Information for investing in Serbia

Serbia is located in the center of South Eastern Europe.

Going to Serbia By plane:
Less than 2 hours from: Paris, Roma, Istanbul, Bucharest, Zurich
Less than 3 hours from: London, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Moscow

Belgrade is located on the Pan-European highway « Corridor X » which allows your goods to reach by truck any point of Europe in less than 72 hours.

Companies are setting up their business in Serbia because of:
– Cheap labor force (Average gross salary is less than 500 euros a month in 2011)
– Qualified workforce available (unemployment rate 20%)
– Extremely low corporate profit tax (10%)
– High labor productivity
– Ability to speak English (50% of the population)

Serbia is offering a custom-free access to a 1 Billion people market:
– Export to EU free-of-customs
– Free trade Agreement CEFTA (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Minuk Kosovo)
– Free trade agreement with EFTA (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein)
– Free trade agreement with Russia
– Trade agreement with Turkey
– Trade agreement GSP with the USA

Overhead costs:
– Corporate profit tax: 10%
– VAT: 18% & 8% for basic products
– Social Insurance contribution: 11% for pension and disability insurance, 6.15% for health insurance, 0.75% for unemployment insurance
– Total Labor costs: Around 50% of the average in UE (Gross 500 euros)
– Electricty: Between €0,0112 and €0,0487/ kWh (in 2011)
– Gaz: Around € 0,3057/m3 (in 2011)

Estimation of costs:
– Renting an office space in Belgrade : Between 8 and 14€/m2/month (Classe B/A)
– Renting a factory in Serbia: Between for 5 to 7 €/m2/month
– Purchase an existing place for your factory: 450-600€/m2
– Building a factory (without land): 400-500€/m2

Living costs in Belgrade:
– Expresso: 1,10€
– Meal at the restaurant: 7 euros
– Cigarettes: 1,60€ for 20
– Beer: 1,8 € for a pint
– Soda: 1,4 €
– Taxis: 5€ (10 minutes in the city center)
– Renting a flat: 450€ for a one-bedroom in the city center
– Short term flat: 40 to 70€ a night
– Hotel room: 90 to 120 € a night

for more informations about doing business in Serbia:
www.siepa.gov.rs (Website in English, French, Russian and Serbian)